[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 159 (Tuesday, August 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50057-50059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20279]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-75676 ; File No. SR-BOX-2015-28]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Options Exchange LLC; Notice 
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To 
Amend the Fee Schedule

August 12, 2015.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the ``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given 
that on August 6, 2015, BOX Options Exchange LLC (the ``Exchange'' or 
``BOX'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``SEC'' 
or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and 
II below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The 
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the 
proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to specify that 
affiliated Exchange Participants (or ``Participants'') may request that 
the Exchange aggregate its [sic] eligible activity with activity of the 
Participant's affiliates for purposes of charges or credits based on 
volume. The text of the proposed rule change is available from the 
principal office of the Exchange, at the Commission's Public Reference 
Room and also on the Exchange's Internet Web site at http://boxexchange.com.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization 
included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the 
proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the 
proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at 
the places specified in Item IV below. The self-regulatory organization 
has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of the 
most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule for trading on BOX 
to specify that an Exchange Participant may request that the Exchange 
aggregate their eligible activity with activity of affiliates for 
purposes of charges or credits based on volume. The proposed rule 
change is based on NYSE Arca, Inc.'s (``NYSE Arca'') Schedule of Fees 
and Charges for Exchange Services, NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``NASDAQ'') 
Rule 7027, NASDAQ Options Market LLC (``NOM'') Rules at Chapter XV, and 
the NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC (``PHLX'') Pricing Schedule.\3\
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    \3\ Effective March 18, 2015, NYSE Arca amended its Schedule of 
Fees and Charges for Exchange Services to specify that affiliated 
Exchange ETP Holders may request that the Exchange aggregate its 
eligible activity with activity of the ETP Holder's affiliates for 
purposes of Charges or Credits based on volume. See Securities 
Exchange Act Release No. 74604 (March 30, 2015), 80 FR 18270 (April 
3, 2015) (SR-NYSEArca-2015-20). Effective December 1, 2014, NASDAQ 
amended Rule 7027 to harmonize the treatment of aggregation of 
affiliate activity of affiliated members to be consistent with the 
rules governing NOM and PHLX. See Securities Exchange Act Release 
No. 72966 (Sept. 3, 2014), 79 FR 53473 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR-NASDAQ-
2014-083). NOM and PHLX also amended their respective rules to 
harmonize the process by which it collects information from its 
members for purposes of aggregating member activity between its 
equity and options markets. See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 
72967 (Sept. 2, 2014), 79 FR 53471 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR-NASDAQ-2014-
082) and 72969 (Sept. 3, 2014), 79 FR 53485 (Sept. 9, 2014) (SR-
PHLX-2014-56).
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    As proposed, for purposes of applying any provision of the 
Exchange's Fee Schedule where the charge assessed, or credit provided, 
by the Exchange depends on the volume of a Participant's activity, a 
Participant may request that the Exchange aggregate its eligible 
activity with activity of affiliates.\4\ The Exchange further proposes 
that a Participant requesting aggregation of eligible affiliate 
activity would be required to (1) certify to the Exchange the affiliate 
status of Participants whose activity it seeks to aggregate prior to 
receiving approval for aggregation, and (2) inform the Exchange 
immediately of any event that causes an entity to cease being an 
affiliate. The Exchange would review available information regarding 
the entities and reserves the right to request additional information 
to verify the affiliate status of an entity. As further

[[Page 50058]]

proposed, the Exchange would approve a request, unless it determines 
that the certificate is not accurate.\5\
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    \4\ See Exhibit 5 for proposed language to be added to the Fee 
Schedule. The Exchange notes that this language is similar to that 
found in NYSE Arca's Schedule of Fees and Charges for Exchange 
Services and NASDAQ Rule 7027.
    \5\ See NASDAQ Rule 7027(a)(1).
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    The Exchange also proposes that if two or more Participants become 
affiliated on or prior to the sixteenth day of a month, and submit the 
required request for aggregation on or prior to the twenty-second day 
of the month, an approval of the request would be deemed to be 
effective as of the first day of that month. If two or more 
Participants become affiliated after the sixteenth day of a month, or 
submit a request for aggregation after the twenty-second day of the 
month, an approval of the request by the Exchange would be deemed to be 
effective as of the first day of the next calendar month. The Exchange 
believes that this requirement is a fair and objective way to apply the 
aggregation rule to fees and streamline the billing process.
    The Exchange further proposes to provide that for purposes of 
applying any provision of the Fee Schedule where the charge assessed, 
or credit provided, by the Exchange depends upon the volume of a 
Participant's activity, references to an entity would be deemed to 
include the entity and its affiliates that have been approved for 
aggregation.\6\
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    \6\ See supra note 4.
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    Finally, the Exchange proposes that for purposes of the Fee 
Schedule, the term ``affiliate'' of a Participant would mean any BOX 
Participant under 75% common ownership or control of that 
Participant.\7\
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    \7\ See supra note 4.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the 
requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act, in general, and Section 
6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5)of the Act,\8\ in particular, in that it provides 
for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other 
charges among BOX Participants and other persons using its facilities 
and does not unfairly discriminate between customers, issuers, brokers 
or dealers and because it is designed to prevent fraudulent and 
manipulative acts and practices, promote just and equitable principles 
of trade, remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and 
open market and a national market system, and protect investors and the 
public interest. The Exchange further believes that the proposed rule 
change is reasonable because it establishes a manner for the Exchange 
to treat affiliated Participants for purposes of assessing charges or 
credits that are based on volume. The provision is equitable because 
all Participants seeking to aggregate their activity are subject to the 
same parameters, in accordance with a standard that recognizes an 
affiliation as of the month's beginning or close in time to when the 
affiliation occurs, provided the Participant submits a timely request. 
Moreover, the proposed billing aggregation language, which would lower 
the Exchange's administrative burden, is substantially similar to 
aggregation language adopted by other exchanges.\9\
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
    \9\ See supra note 3.
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    The Exchange further notes that the proposal would serve to reduce 
disparity of treatment between Participants with regard to the pricing 
of different services and reduce any potential for confusion on how 
activity can be aggregated. The Exchange believes that the proposed 
rule change avoids disparate treatment of Participants that have 
divided their various business activities between separate corporate 
entities as compared to Participants that operate those business 
activities within a single corporate entity. The Exchange further notes 
that the proposed rule change is reasonable and is designed to remove 
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market by 
harmonizing the manner by which the Exchanges permits Participants to 
aggregate volume with other exchanges. In particular, the Exchange 
notes that NYSE Arca, NASDAQ, NOM, and PHLX all have a similar standard 
that the Exchange is proposing to adopt.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\10\ the Exchange 
does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden 
on intermarket or intramarket competition that is not necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. As stated above, 
the proposed rule change, which applies equally to all Participants, is 
intended to reduce the Exchange's administrative burden in applying 
volume price discounts for firms which have requested aggregation with 
that of an affiliated Participant, and is substantially similar to 
rules adopted by other exchanges. Because the market for order 
execution and routing is extremely competitive, Participants may 
readily opt to disfavor the Exchange if they believe that alternatives 
offer them better value. The Exchange does not believe the proposed 
changes will impair the ability of Participants or competing order 
execution venues to maintain their competitive standing in the 
financial markets.
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    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received from Members, Participants or Others

    The Exchange has neither solicited nor received comments on the 
proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The Exchange has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \11\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder.\12\ 
Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the 
protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any 
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to 
30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as 
the Commission may designate if consistent with the protection of 
investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become 
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \13\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.\14\
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
    \12\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \14\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). As required under Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii), the Exchange provided the Commission with written 
notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change, along with a 
brief description and the text of the proposed rule change, at least 
five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule 
change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission.
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule 
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or 
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or 
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission 
takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under 
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \15\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed 
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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    \15\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

[[Page 50059]]

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an email to [email protected]. Please 
include File Number SR-BOX-2015-28 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities 
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-BOX-2015-28. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help 
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, 
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on 
the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all 
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other 
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and 
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available 
for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All 
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does 
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-BOX-2015-28 and should be 
submitted on or before September 8, 2015.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\16\
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
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    \16\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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[FR Doc. 2015-20279 Filed 8-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P